General Chat

It seems like I have stirred up a hornet's nest. I'm glad that I am not the only one who feels this way. Judging by the way Politicians always seem to do what to me seems daft I was beginning to believe that I was the one who had lost his grip on reality.

I agree current govt a right load of idiots and a lot of 'em liars. My advice to any youngsters these days would be to emigrate. My view is we're a 3rd World country with very little hope for future generations. We lack direction, discipline, decent education etc etc.

Grampa Jim............it was a debate about nurses who have been offered a below inflation pay rise........telling a nurse that she at least has had a pay rise whereas he hasn't had one for over a year £ 20, 000 gross is not a bad increase..... And Blair hanging on in there....an extra £20, 000 pa pension if he completes ten years... ...he will not go before May Also insisting that the Northern Ireland problem is resolved before May..... And Dr David Kelly.........off now Bye

I work for myself & i'm still earning the same as 8 years ago, i simply can't afford to pay myself anymore, if i increase my prices i don't get the work, i'm working longer hours for less & less. Brian

Well I am cross because he doubled my tax bill just like that! I will be paying twice as much tax from next April (10% to 20%) so how can that be fair? I don't know about anyone else, but every year we seem to have less & less to spend as bills go up, but our pay rises aren't enough to cover them! :0((( Joan

According to thieving Gordon's latest figures, the government plans to spend nearly £600,000,000,000 this year, which equates to about £10,000 for every single man. woman child, infant and baby in the country. No how many of you can honestly say that you and your families benefit from even a fraction of this?

Hello Grandpa Jim, not sure this is relative to your thread, but here in France there is no car tax, discontinued a few years ago, plus fuel prices/charges are up to 30% cheaper. With the amount of vehicles in UK where does all this bunce go? Must run into hundreds of millions. The medical system here is magic, nobody I have met complains about this important part of a state run business. Great thread, Derek in France

For the first time in my life I feel like NOT voting ever again. It doesn't matter who gets in..... we are their last thought. in one week, our outlay has gone up by £5 a week.....and those are the only two things we have noticed so far!! Not too necessary..... only gas and water. Deanna X

Colin, Why should he have a pay increase? Politicians are overpaid anyway. A guaranteed big wedge for 4 years regardless of whether they can do the job or not, no Targets to achieve and a nice little Pension and probably a lucrative Directorship or two at the end.

One of the first acts passed by D Day Morgan and his band of Welsh Assembly cronies was to vote themselves a hefty pension increase... I did hear on an MP on the radio recently telling nurses that he had not had a pay rise last year....failing to mention the £ 10,000 tax free increase in already over generous and unaccountable expenses.. that he had recieved

Jim - sounds like a good idea:o)) jude sarf wales :o)

They do say that we have a Free Market Economy, I prefer it to be called an Uncontrolled Greed Economy. Jude, maybe the whole Country should be encouraged to vote for Independent Candidates and then perhaps the 650 of them can put their heads together to SOLVE the problems we have instead of just posturing and scoring points off the other side, and voting against good ideas just because the other side suggest them..

Jim, the reason that Goverment Contracts always overrun is because they never put 'Penalty Clauses' in them because the Quangoes have to be taken care of and then there is the 'Well paid Directorships 'to be handed out to the 'Favoured few' the money has to come from somewhere,and thats the poor old Taxpayer as per.Just look at the way all the MPs.are running around showing their alliegence to Gordon Brown,not because they like him, but because they want lucarative jobs,I suppose it could be called 'Original Brown Nosing' Hal.

Jim,Maggie & others l have'nt read all of this thread but l get the jist of it and totally agree with you - AND I (sadly) voted for Labour. l'm easily confused by (anything really lol) politics, but do feel we have been badly let down- but so did the Conservatives.They really need to get out into the real world and do as they expect us to do!!! l'll not vote again:o((( jude sarf wales

The one thing we 'ordinary' people have is...Life skills...you know, making £1 go as far as £1.10p......Just let members of parliament, and their wives and children, live for a month or two in a council house, oopppsss sorry, they are now called Social Housing...do I hear a rose by any other name !!!...with the income that family have. Let them manage on the pittance our pensioners have....and these are the pensioners who either fought in or grew up during the war, and have never been well off. THEN we might see some changes.....Oh dear...do I hear another saying...A leopard etc. etc. Kathlyn

I also cannot understand how so many Government Contracts run so long overtime and cost so much over Budget. In the real world Contractors are financially penalised if they over-run. I am also at a loss as to how the Portsmouth Stick, that great symbol of our link with the sea, cost so much and ran so long over, (and, by the way, the scenic lift STILL isn't working 7 and a quarter years after the due date) when St Paul's Cathedral was built for £750,000, within budget and on time in the 17th century by manual labour BEFORE we had Powered Cranes and all the technical advances we 'enjoy'.

Have to admit I'm not in a pension scheme, and I won't get any of my ex's either (part of the divorce settlement). I moved around with my ex's job, gettiing generally low-paid jobs where I could. Then took 4 years out to have my children and started low paid work again - to fit around them. Got divorced. Carried on in low paid work to fit around the children. Couldn;t afford a pension because I needed every penny to survive. Went to Uni in the hope of improving my prospects - made litle difference, there are people with degrees applying for lower paid jobs than mine!! Children are now grown up. I was in full time employment for 3 years with the council, then made redundant (more like constructive dismissal) when the office moved to the middle of nowhere!! Spent 3 years temping and looking for another 'proper' job. Been where I am now (back with the council - lower grade & pay) for 18months. I am over 50, not on an excellent wage. Whatever I pay into the 'final salary' - which is now 'half final salary' - pension scheme won't actually give me much, as you have had to pay into it for 12 years without a break to get the full amount. As I've been made redundant once, who's to say it won't happen again? It would be S*ds law that I'd be paying money in, only to find at the end of it all that I was just over the limit for extra help!! It sounds negative - I suppose it is, but 8% off your wages when you're not earning a lot is a big chunk. I'd rather have the money now than end up with an extra pittance later. maggie

Thanks for that Brian :o) So basically the government set up provision for the fund, then reduced/withdrew the funding thereby causing the schemes to fold and, until pre- budget pressure, didn't give much of a damn. Now we have to pay more because of Brown's previous action. maggie

Gramps, you have hit the nail on the head. I was born in the east end with parents, grand parents etc. who were hard working ordinary men and women. One of the things that background taught me was.....If you don`t have the money you can`t have it, ie...save for it. When I returned to work after my children were old enough to be left, I paid into the company pension scheme, and also paid enhanced pension contributions. It was very hard to do, but I did look 25 years down the road. It is now that I should be enjoying the benifits that I could have had 25 years ago !!!!! Am I, no, no, no. Just to live in this house, which still has a mortgage even though I am retired, means being very careful as I have to pay, mortgage...insurances...council tax...gas...elect....water...phone, and my luxury, the computer., and I hav`nt eaten yet or put clothes on my back. The doctors is 3 miles away, (country lane with no footpath). I do have my bus pass, but with only one bus an hour my trip to the doctors could take 3 hours, and that is if the surgery is on time. I think I am right in saying 95% of members of parliament come from 'comfortable' backgrounds!!!!!! Kathlyn

Well I feel sorry for the old people of this country, those who fought in the wars, they fought for this country and the Government thank them by giving them a pittance to live on. The Jobs are all going abroad, there is nothing here anymore, no safe jobs. Child poverty here is getting worse, never mind giving every other country other than our own any help financially, they need to sort out their own shores first. Goverments mean nothing to the normal people, they feed the fat cat's first and only look out for themselves, as long as they have their pay packet that's ok.